Abstract

This study examined the role that satisfaction of three types of basic needs played in explaining two types of motivation to participate in development opportunities. Within Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the satisfaction of intrinsic needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness is considered to be critical in the development of more autonomous types of motivation. The study also included measures of six components of psychological well-being (PWB), including autonomy, positive relations with others,
environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, and self-acceptance, in order evaluate the relative importance of two separate approaches to explaining motivation to participate in development opportunities. A survey of 351 employed persons (including 85 males) collected data on six measures of PWB, three basic need satisfaction scales, autonomous and controlled motivational mindsets, six workplace factors, and five personality dimensions. The latter were included to assess the importance of more distal factors. The two best sets of predictors were the six PWB variables (explaining 26% and 27% of autonomous and controlled motivation respectively), while the five personality dimensions explained 24% and 22% of autonomous and controlled motivation respectively. Satisfaction of basic needs were relatively less important (explaining 11% and 11% of autonomous and controlled motivation respectively), while workplace factors accounted for 12% and 6% of autonomous and controlled motivation respectively. By choosing the best predictor from each set, a hybrid model that included the PWB scale Personal
Growth, the workplace factor Training and Career Development, and the personality variable Conscientiousness was able to predict 32% and 30% of autonomous and controlled motivation respectively. Satisfaction of the basic need for Competence did not contribute significantly to the model. The results did not provide any support for the satisfaction of basic needs as being important in
understanding employees' motivation to participate in development opportunities. Further analysis identified that only Personal Growth was a significant predictor of males' levels of autonomous and controlled motivation.

The author/s will retain copyright of their abstract, in addition to the moral rights they are entitled to as author/s of the abstract. The Australian Psychological Society Ltd does not hold copies of any papers presented at conferences. A formal paper was not produced for publication in the conference proceedings as the APS conference organisers decided not to offer this in 2011.